I do not own anything

So... the Military Ball's today and I just spent an hour wandering through the mall and looking for a bra... and it's my stepsister's birthday! Bon anniversaire à ma belle-soeur incroyable!

"So we're gonna live in Karakura Town, right?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. I managed to get a pre-furnished house there," Yoruichi replied, trailing her finger on the spine of a book. "I figure you want to get away from the this place, and I'd go crazy without seeing Kisuke or Isshin."

"Sure, sounds like fun. I always wanted to go abroad," he grinned.

"What about the wedding, though?"

"The what?" Damn. He had completely forgotten about that.

She sighed exasperatedly. "We're engaged. There's got to be a wedding at some point. Mother and Father have already started setting it up. They want us to get fitted for the outfits and pick out a date. Apparently, we're going to be husband and wife somewhere withing the next year."

"I hate party planning," he mumbled. "How about August 10th? It's Tonks' birthday."

She chuckled. "You really are willing to do anything to anger your mother, aren't you?"

"Yeah," he grinned at the thought. "I'd love to see dear old Mum's reaction to me getting married on my half-blood cousin's birthday."

"I'll tell Mother and Father later. I think they'll probably let you call them their first names, in private anyway. Probably stick with formalities in public or something," she mused. "Is the wedding gonna be English, Japanese, or some sort of combo?"

"Uh… I don't care. You can choose," he shrugged.

"Hmm… that means Mother and Father are going to make us have two – a Japanese wedding, and an English one. That's gonna be a tough one. I think I'll go see what Liana-chan's up to." She stood up and smiled at Sirius before bouncing out of the room.

He leaned back against the chair he was in, "Maybe this won't be so bad…"

~oOo~

The seeds must be planted early, if they are ever to bloom.

I've done everything I possibly can for her. I just hope it will be enough for your forgiveness, Sojun…

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who has ever read, reviewed, and/or added Liana Kuchiki to their favorites. I really can't believe that such a random idea I had would ever get such a response! Thank you for supporting this story, I can't tell you all how much it means to me that so many people enjoy it. To be honest, once we pass the 168 mark, this fic will have more reviews than my second-favorite fic, Shinigami at Hogwarts (granted, it's not so much of a fic as it is a collection of drabbles that I have absolutely no idea what to do with) in a bit over half the number of chapters! Also, to those of you who actually live in the British Isles, thank you for putting up with my attempt at writing British English (I live in the Lone Star state, y'all!)

I have recently been obsessing over yet another fic. It's called Caledonia Lilia Snape by Yashodoa. While it could use a bit of help in the grammar department, it is everything I dreamed for Liana to be. I would seriously recommend it to those of you out there who are actually bothering to read this.

As far as the sequel goes, I'm still trying to work out a plot for it (yes, still) and I honestly don't know if I'll ever even finish it! Keep your fingers crossed everyone!

The next few fragments are some deleted scenes that were in the portion of Liana that I had handwritten at school but decided wouldn't be beneficial to the plot. I hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER

Enter, Sirius!

Yoruichi's eyes flashed dangerously, but she relented, slumping into a chair and stroking a cat that formed in her arms.

"What?" she snapped at Byakuya's surprised expression. "You're obviously not going to let me leave. I want some kind of comfort."

"I have a cat too," Hermione said with a hesitant smile, trying to break the tension that bore down on everyone in the room. "His name is Crookshanks. Ron doesn't really like him."

"I don't really like telling people this one's real name." The purple haired woman relaxed, scratching the feling between its ears. "But I call her Neko-chan."

"Japanese?" she asked interestedly.

"Yes. Byakuya," she pointed at where the man was conversing with Dumbledore, Mad-Eye and Remus, "and I are Japanese. Liana is too, it's just a few of the features her mother passed on to her gives her an English appearance."

"You knew her mother?" she asked.

"No." She shook her head. "All I know about Hisana is that she asked Byakuya to save her sister from poverty by taking her as his sister. It was probably a huge scandal, though, when they married. Probably something like when Andromeda Black married Ted Tonks."

"They had a daughter you know," the muggleborn said before whispering, "Nymphadora, but she goes by her surname. I think Remus fancies her."

"Remus, huh?" She gave a sad smile. "I'm not as upset with him as I am Black. He couldn't have stopped the argument we had – it's not in his nature."

"Sirius has a temper, not to mention how impulsive he is. I'm sure he didn't mean it," she said softly.

The older woman sighed. "Probably not. It's just… after years of anger… it's hard to let go. I suppose I should work on that. Ne, Neko-chan?"

"[I don't think you would succeed at it without serious effort, Mistress,]" the cat yawned.

This caused everyone but the two shinigami to stare at the cat. Normally, not even magical felines were capable of human speech patterns.

"Bloody hell, the cat talked!" Ron finally exclaimed.

Yoruichi snorted. "What, you've never seen a talking cat before?" she scoffed. "I could be a talking cat, you know."

"You are," Byakuya said dryly.

She smirked. "And I love every moment of it. No one expects a cat to talk. And then no one expects a talking cat – with a male voice, I might add – to turn out to be a beautiful woman."

"Don't me so vain. You may end up like Ayesegawa-goseki," he chided, knowing it was useless. "Frankly, I'm not sure if they're surprised by you true gender or species, or by your lack of clothing."

She grinned at him mischievously. "You should know. I remember your reaction plain as day, Byakuya-bo."

"You are very fortunate your father didn't walk in at that moment."

"Prude."

The Dragon and the Phoenix

"Ah, it seems Lady Shihoin has wrongfully interpreted my intentions," Dumbledore said from where Liana was still trying to heal him.

"You sure look silly saying that, old man," she snorted.

"Do not speak without permission, Shihoin. Crucio!"

She dropped to the floor, screaming. Only her kohai noticed it didn't seem genuine, and then only just.

"M-my deepest apologies, my Lord," she gasped. Even her reiatsu seemed to be in pain.

"Do not disappoint me again, Shihoin."

"Y-yes, my Lord."

"Resume your duel."

"Yes, my Lord." She stood up, somewhat shakily, before regaining her footing. "I'm afraid I'll have to speed things up a bit."

The Dursleys at Hogwarts

"Mr. Malfoy, that's enough!" McGonagall snapped. "Mr. Dursley, please sit down."

The blond glowered but obeyed, as did the muggle after she sent him a severe look.

"Liana?" Hermione asked. "It's okay now, calm down."

"Yeah," Ron added. "McGonagall stopped him. C'mon, mate, you're the best seeker we've had in ages! How're we gonna win the Quidditch Cup without you?"

Hermione stared him him incredulously. "Really, Ronald? She's gone into shock and you're talking about Quidditch?"

"Hey," he defended. "Don't blame me! She plays like a pro!"

"Plays" was the only word out of their half-conversation that actually made it into her mind. "Let's… play… c'mon, Freak… let's play… tag."

"C'mon, Freak!" She whirled around to see Dudley and Piers, grinning wickedly. "Let's play tag! We're it. If we win, we get to beat you up!"

"Atta boy, Dudders," Uncle Vernon chortled.

The blond boy's grin grew wider. "C'mon, Freak, run! We'll give you a head minute head start."

"Tag," she mumbled, her voice managing to stop Ron and Hermione's chronic bickering. Her legs swung over the side of the bench before she sprinted out of the Great Hall.

"Liana!" Hermione called, running after her.

"Tag," Ron repeated as the two rushed out of the hall. "What the bloody hell does tag have to do with this?"

Again, thank you so much for your support of this fic!

EDIT (6-14-15): Hi guys! I noticed this fic's been getting more followers since yesterday. I wanted to make it clear that there is not going to be a sequel to Liana